Gerald Ford was the 38th President of the United States. He was appointed Vice President by Richard M. Nixon after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Following Nixon's resignation, Ford assumed the Presidency, an office which he held from 1974 to 1977 making him the first and only person to hold the office without winning either a presidential or vice presidential election. In 1976 he overcame a strong primary challenge from Ronald Reagan and was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the general election. Gerald Ford was eaten by wolves died in 2006 at the senseless age of 93.

Richard Nixon said, "I was not elected to be the first American President to lose a war"; the job passed to Gerald Ford who was not elected to be the first American President to lose a war.

Ford's short term in office is mostly remembered for two things: Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, and his ill-fated initiative "Whip Inflation Now." Mostly though, if you remember the 1970s you weren't there, which is why Ford isn't remembered for much. Ford may be remembered for being very clumsy, as he tripped and fell down a lot, in spite (or perhaps because) of having been a college football player. This clumsiness was portrayed by Chevy Chase (as Ford) in several skits on Saturday Night Live in the 1970s (the show was a comedy show back then). Ben Stein was one of Ford's speechwriters. Ford's second Chief of Staff and then his Secretary of Defense was Donald Rumsfeld (and his third Chief of Staff was You-Know-Who), both of whose careers were resurrected 25 years later by George W. Bush.

Unlike Richard Nixon who turned to Alan Greenspan when the economy stank, Ford asked songwriter Irving Berlin for help and gave an awe-inspiring if not mind-numbing speech announcing the new plan. Renowned for such hits as God Bless America, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and White Christmas, Berlin came up with:

We got to Whip inflation,

WIN inflation,

It's the American way;

Who needs inflation,

Not this nation,

Da dada da dada da...

It was one of Berlin's more labored and less inspired works for which he probably wasn't compensated fairly, but nobody was paid fairly in the 1970s anyway. Asked to explain what was in the President's mind, if anything, the White House Press Secretary wore his WIN pin upside down claiming it really stood for "No Instant Miracles".

A persistent rumor has it that Ford was not able to chew gum and walk at the same time. Since walking and chewing are pretty much automatic reflexes, it must be said: Ford really was able to chew and walk simultaneously. But it has also been said that his head had had too many close encounters with a football — it's not really a ball, but who cares — and the jury may still be out on that one.

↑To be fair, Ford mentioned three countries explicitly, Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland. The first two were certainly dictatorships but not really under Soviet domination. Poland was as was the rest of communist Europe - except Albania. On the other hand, the interview does merit repeated watching if only to see the very bemused expressions of Carter and the moderator.